Iran's Coppertone Cops

Infrequently I will hear someone equate Christianity to Islam and will either declare that both are dangerous when they are in control of governments, or that Christianity is a much bigger threat that Islam ever thought of being. I know, I know. In print it sounds goofy, but this kind of history-deprived nonsense has caught on with many younger people today who suffer from Government Education.

The next time I hear this, I am going to have a print out in my wallet of this story:

Women With Suntans Will be Arrested, Iran Police Chief Warns

Women with suntans are violating Islamic law and will be arrested in Iran, the capital city's police chief was reported by The Daily Telegraph as saying Wednesday.

"The public expects us to act firmly and swiftly if we see any social misbehavior by women, and men, who defy our Islamic values," Brigadier Hossien Sajedinia said.

"In some areas of north Tehran we can see many suntanned women and young girls who look like walking mannequins," he continued. "We are not going to tolerate this situation and will first warn those found in this manner and then arrest and imprison them."

The warning follows recent comments made by a hard-line Iranian cleric, who claimed women dressed in revealing clothing were disturbing young men and causing earthquakes.

Young men, I fear, will always be disturbed by young women with or without tans, but they might have something there on earthquake prevention.

Few would stand for arresting sun-tanned women in Washington, D.C., but the fact that it can happen in Iran's capital city draws a big yawn from our political and social elite, who continue to draw up their plans for eradicating Christianity's "poisonous" influence from our institutions.

Crossing The Line

When a county government decides that having 15 people over to your home for an evening Bible Study requires a costly "major use permit," a line has been crossed somewhere.

Maybe it's the constitutional guarantee of freedom of assembly, which states that people can gather with whomever they want for any lawful purpose.

Maybe it's the constitutional guarantee of the free exercise of one's religious beliefs.

A San Diego pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a county official and warned they will face escalating fines if they continue to hold Bible studies in their home.

The couple, whose names are being withheld until a demand letter can be filed on their behalf, told their attorney a county government employee knocked on their door on Good Friday, asking a litany of questions about their Tuesday night Bible studies, which are attended by approximately 15 people.

"Do you have a regular weekly meeting in your home? Do you sing? Do you say 'amen'?" the official reportedly asked. "Do you say, 'Praise the Lord'?"

The pastor's wife answered yes.

She says she was then told, however, that she must stop holding "religious assemblies" until she and her husband obtain a Major Use Permit from the county, a permit that often involves traffic and environmental studies, compliance with parking and sidewalk regulations and costs that top tens of thousands of dollars.

And if they fail to pay for the MUP, the county official reportedly warned, the couple will be charged escalating fines beginning at $100, then $200, $500, $1000, "and then it will get ugly."

No, it's already ugly.

Technically speaking, the Constitution bans Congress from passing such obtrusive laws, but in general the states have accepted the Bill of Rights when entering the union and they, and their subdivisions, violate them at their peril.

This is just another example of how far this nation has fallen in a few short decades. An incident such as this was unthinkable 50 years ago.

Religion of Peace Update from West Bank

Europe isn't the only place where Christianity is on the defensive.

In the Palestinian-run portions of the Holy Land, Muslims are flexing muscles of intolerance, starting with Christian cemeteries.

This week, 70 Christian grave sites in Jisna were vandalized, with the crosses on top of the graves found smashed off, local Christians told [World Net Daily].

Jisna is primarily a Christian village, but over the last 6 to 8 years, the town has seen a steady stream of Muslims, mostly due to Jisna's good quality of life. Two years ago, the first mosque was constructed in the village. If the Islamic influx continues, Jisna might go the way of so many other Palestinian cities, like Ramallah and Bethlehem, which used to be predominantly Christian but now have large Muslim majorities.

[SNIP]

"Our freedom and our way of life is much more limited. At times we don't feel safe for us, our families and our Christian friends," the Christian said.

Just this week, a Palestinian Authority spokesman admitted to WND that Christians in the Palestinian territories are being "watched."

"We have been watching this Christian organization and for the moment there is nothing special in their activity," said Adnan Dmeire, spokesman for the PA's security organizations in West Bank.

Dmeire was referring to the Association of the Holy Book, one of the main groups that attends to the needs of Christians in the Palestinian territories. The group has been accused by both the PA and Hamas of carrying out missionary activities. A Bible store the association sponsored in the Gaza Strip – the only Christian bookstore in the territory – was attacked by Islamists several times. The store's owner, Rami Ayyad, was found shot to death in 2007, his body riddled with bullets.

Religion of peace, indeed, which is why any attempt to "internationalize" Jerusalem as a Holy City open to all three great faiths is doomed to fail.

Recent Presidents Leading U.S. to One World Order?

There is a lot of good food for thought in this article:

Move Toward One World Order Has Continued No Matter Who is President

This isn't so much a "conspiracy theory" type of story, but an examination of how Satan's influence on the politicians and media masters of the world keeps pulling us repeatedly down a dark path.

On government trends: have you ever noticed that the concept of a new world order and even a single international government moves forward no matter who is in power (Republicans or Democrats)? President Barack Obama has certainly headed in this direction due to the economic "crisis," along with European leaders, particularly Gordon Brown in the United Kingdom. But it also edged forward under President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, and especially the first President George Bush.

That was during the Gulf War, and it led a certain Vatican cardinal named Joseph Ratzinger, during a speech on February 8, 1992, at the University of Milan, to warn against the movement ...

... In that speech, Cardinal Ratzinger recalled a 1907 book called Lord of the World and said it described "a similar unified civilization and its power to destroy the spirit. The anti-christ is represented as the great carrier of peace in a similar new world order."

[snip]

As it stands right now, we see how there is already a "one-world economy," with the entire world following the U.S. into recession after the collapse of American financial instruments.

The vehicle toward one-world [is] here ...

The author, Mike Brown, goes on to discuss America's economic malaise, and how it probably will get worse, and spiritual troubles, which are magnified by a media seemingly hellbent on exposing the flaws in Christians (and it's not that hard to find flaws, sadly.)

The Jesus Cover-up At Georgetown U.

"Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (Mark 8:38)

White House Requires Religious Symbols to be Covered at Georgetown University

Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS” — symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ — because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there....

“In coordinating the logistical arrangements for yesterday’s event, Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind Gaston Hall stage,” Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown, told CNSNews.com.

“The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they’ve done for other policy speeches,” she added. “Frankly, the pipe and drape wasn’t high enough by itself to fully cover the IHS and cross above the GU seal and it seemed most respectful to have them covered so as not to be seen out of context.”

All signs and symbols, she said. Most respectful to whom? Christ or Mr. Obama?

I can't believe Georgetown agreed to this defilement, for that is what it is. Mr. Obama didn't want to "compete" with any other deity's imagery? What are we witnessing here, clever marketing or a man's antipathy to the Christian God?

The White House did not respond to a request from CNSNews.com to comment on the covering up of Jesus’ name at Gaston Hall.

I'm sure they didn't. And won't.

Georgetown should have said no to the request. They should've told all the president's men and women to take a hike. That the name of Jesus is nothing for which they should be ashamed.

This part of the report is instructive:

Obama did not mention the name of Jesus during his address. However, he did mention Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

“There is a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells a story of two men…‘the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house…it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock,’” Obama said.

“We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand,” he added. “We must build our house upon a rock.”

Mr. Obama borrows the words of Christ when they suit his purposes, such as in defense of his socialist economic policies. That he chooses to do so at a Catholic university implies that the university agrees with his interpretation.

As a Catholic, I am deeply shocked, saddened and not just a little angry with Georgetown for its willingness to bask in the glory of The Obama at the expense of its identity as a Jesuit (the Society of Jesus) university. As a Christian American I am most concerned that there is a spiritual price to be paid for the actions of our elected leaders.

Thus silence is not an option.

I See a Bad Moon Arisin' ...

Islamic fundamentalists are feeling a bit too confident in London.

A Christian minister who has had heated arguments with Muslims on his TV Gospel show has been brutally attacked by three men who ripped off his cross and warned: ‘If you go back to the studio, we’ll break your legs.’ [SNIP]

The Metropolitan Police are treating it as a ‘faith hate’ assault and are hunting three Asian men.

In spite of the attack, Mr Samuel went ahead with his hour-long live Asian Gospel Show on the Venus satellite channel from studios in Wembley, North London. During the show the Muslim station owner Tahir Ali came on air to condemn the attack.

Pakistan-born Mr Samuel, 48, who was educated by Christian missionaries and moved to Britain 15 years ago, said that over the past few weeks he has received phone-in calls from people identifying themselves as Muslims who challenged his views.

‘They were having an argument with me,’ he said. ‘They were very aggressive in saying they did not agree with me. I said those are your views and these are my views.’

He said that he, his wife Louisa, 48, and his son Naveed, 19, now fear for their safety, and police have given them panic alarms. ‘I am frightened and depressed,’ he said. "My show is not confrontational."

Some would argue that the Brits are encouraging this sort of behavior when they refuse to stand up for the free speech rights of their citizens and block visitors from other countries who are warning of home-grown Euro-jihad. It is political correctness based on fear.

I hope it's not a preview of what we will see over here.

God bless and protect Mr. Samuel and his family.

Bad News in the War on Christian Faith

The war against faith is growing. In New York, Catholics are warning that the state government is on a jihad to tax and regulate the church out of existence.

Democrats have declared war on the Catholic Church, with new laws that threaten to bankrupt Catholic schools, hospitals, charities and parishes. Thus far, the worst attacks have come in New York.

“We’ve taken a lot of hits this year,” Dennis Poust, spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference, the policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, tells Newsmax. “Outside the government, the Catholic Church is the largest provider of health, human services and education in [New York]. But some legislators are so driven by malice that they’re willing to see our charities and schools go under.”

The Empire State’s Democrats are attacking on three fronts.

A proposal to require all hospitals to perform abortions, or lose their state license would put Catholic hospitals out of business. Major funding cuts for Catholic schools by Gov. David Paterson, who continues to force the parochial schools to run state-mandated programs at their own expense. An effort by Democratic lawmakers to abolish the statute of limitations on sex abuse lawsuits against the Church, allowing people to sue over decades-old cases in which the alleged perpetrators are dead.

The proposed sex-abuse law applies only to private institutions such as the Church and the Boy Scouts. Public schools are exempt. Yet sex abuse is more common in public schools than in private institutions.

"The physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests”, concluded a 2002 study by Hofstra University scholar Charol Shakeshaft. It estimated that 6 to 10 percent of U.S. public school students had been sexually abused by teachers and school employees.

When you add this to what the federal government is attempting with Mr. Obama's pledge to reverse any "conscience clause" provisions to protect doctors, nurses and other health care professionals from being forced to perform procedures that are against their beliefs, we are truly living in evil times.

If you are a Christian, even if you are not Catholic, the news should give you pause. If government can target one church, it can target them all. The beliefs we hold in common are much more important than the disagreements over the finer points of theology and liturgy, and the freedom that we share is the same freedom that we can all lose if we do not awaken to defend it.